The Power of Superstition
by Moffeteer
Summary: Molepaw is a jumpy apprentice of TreeClan, and Nightpaw is his brother. When Molepaw is told he has a unique power, and that he must use it to stop the witchhunts from starting up again for cats, how will he cope?T for safety. Plz R&R!
1. Prolouge

Hey, everyone! This is one of my first Warriors fanfics--heck, its one of my first fanfics on this site, so please be nice!

Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors. Wish I did. But if wishes were horses, beggars would ride...or something like that.

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Sunlight shone through the leaves, dappling the forest floor with light.

Three cats padded through the undergrowth. The biggest was a warrior named Ringtail. He was a ginger tom with a black ear and a black-banded tail.

The next was an apprentice named Nightpaw. He was a bit big for an apprentice, with black fur dotted with blue-gray flecks.

The last was a skinny little apprentice named Molepaw. Molepaw was undersized, skinny, big-eared, and had a nervous glint in his wide eyes.

A beetle took flight suddenly in front of his nose and he jumped back in alarm, giving a small startled mew.

"Shhhhhh!" Nightpaw hissed,"Molepaw, you're going to scare away all the prey!"

Shivering, his tail drooping, the velvety-black apprentice hung his head.

"I-I'm sorry," he mewed.

Nightpaw sighed and Ringtail draped his banded tail over Molepaw's quivering shoulders.

"Don't be so hard on your brother. He's just a bit jumpy," he meowed.

Nightpaw looked at his nervous brother and felt a pang of symphathy.

"I know, I know. I just wish he'd loosen up a bit," he grumbled, but gave his brother an affectionate lick on the top of his little head.

"I-I'm s-s-sorry," Molepaw mewed again, still shakey, hit green eyes flitting back and forth anxiously,"Its just...I-I see th-them a-all the t-t-time..." he trailed off miserably, still shaking.

"See what?" Ringtail asked curiously, before Nightpaw could stop him.

Molepaw shuddered and closed his eyes.

" The ghost cats, they're everywhere. You walk right through them, and you still don't know. Cats who can't find StarClan, cats from the Dark Forest looking to cause mischief. Twolegs worshiping cats in a far-away place where the sun beats down and dries the earth to sand. Twolegs taking cats and burning them on a sstick. Witch. witch! Demon's spawn! Devil's messenger!" he wailed.

Nightpaw and Ringtail pressed comfortingly against Molepaw's sides until the Black apprentice had calmed down.

"I'm sorry I asked. Come on, let's get him over to Starwatcher's den back at camp," Ringtail mewed.

The shivering apprentice looked up hopefully.

"St-starwatcher? Wh-where the st-starry-furred c-c-cats whisper c-comfortingly, a-and the d-dream a-a-are n-nice?" he asked.

Nightpaw draped his tail over his brother, pressing against his side reassuringly.

"Yes. Now come on."


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Warriors. Wish I did. But, unfortunately I'm not cool enough, and that's that.

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Cats looked up as they herded the shivering apprentice through the hollow log the was the TreeClan camp entrance, and into the camp itself. When they saw who it was, they went back to what they were doing. 

"Come on, Molepaw," Nightpaw urged,"We're almost there."

"Wouldn't it be convenient if Starwatcher came out of his den right now and noticed us so we wouldn't have to go all the way over there?" Ringtail asked.

Just then, Starwatcher came out of his den and saw them.

"I am _so_ good," the ginger warrior mewed to Nightpaw, who rolled his eyes.

"Did he have another one of his fits?" the silver-dappled white tom asked as he padded over, his tawny eyes worried.

Ringtail nodded sheepishly. "Yeah, my bad. I asked the wrong question," he admitted, shuffling his paws.

Starwatcher sighed and flicked his white tail in the direction of the apprentice's den.

"Get him in the den. I'll be back in a second with some poppy seeds and thyme," he told them, then went back into his den.

Nightpaw and Ringtail nudged Molepaw into the den where he collapsed in a shivering ball of frightened black fur. Nightpaw went to lay beside his brother while Ringtail moved to let Starwatcher in.

The medicine cat placed the herb and seeds in front of Molepaw and mewed gently,"Here, Molepaw. Have some of this."

Molepaw stared blankly at him for a while, and for a heartbeat Nightpaw was worried he hadn't understood, then he slowly blinked and did as he was told. Nightpaw began to purr and gently groom his brother's black ears.

Soon, the apprentice's shivering stopped and he was sound asleep.

Starwatcher sighed. "Come see me if he wakes up and seems worse, though I guess you can go train a bit since he should be out for a while. I'm off the check on Thrushwing's new kits," he mewed, and slipped out of the den.

Ringtail brought a hind leg up to scratch an ear. "I'll go tell Tenseheart his apprenticed is indesposed again," he offered, and followeed the white tom out.

Nightpaw watched his friend leave, then looked down at his brother, green eyes filled with worry.

Ringtail had just been made a warrior a few days ago, and soon it would be his and Molepaw's turn. But would Oakstar let the jumpy little apprentice recieve his warrior name? Or would he be stuck as an apprentice forever?

Molepaw opened his eyes to find himself in a starlit forest full of tall, leafy trees.

Hesitantly, he padded foreword until he was in a clearing. In front of him sat a dark silver-gray tortoiseshell tim with unerving blue eyes that followed the apprentice's every move.

"Welcome, Molepaw," the tom meowed, curling his tail over his forepaws.

"Wh-who are y-you?" the black apprentice mewed shakily, green eyes wide.

The gray warrior's gaze softened. " Hush. My name is Ghoststep. And I have come to warn you of a great danger that is coming," he meowed.

Molepaw shuddered. "Wh-why are you t-telling m-m-me?" he asked, green eyes even wider.

"Because you are the only one who can stop it," Ghoststep answered simply.

"For countless seasons," he went,"Twolegs have had a fear of black cats, though once we were _all_ worshiped like gods, the beings who created the world."

"The far-off place of sand and sun," the black cat breathed.

Ghoststep nodded. "Yes. We were once worshipped there, but when we left that place, it began to change. Not long after that came the time of superstition and betrayal," he mewed sorrowfully.

"B-betrayal?" Molepaw asked, and the silver-gray cat sighed.

"Once, there were many black cats who were born with a power. This power was passed on from generation to generation. It allowed these cats to see the ghosts of other cats, and keep the powers within the Dark Forest in check, and how to understand Twolegs. They could travel to far-off places in mere seconds, keeping all the Clans of the world in touch with each other. They understood all creatures, those with power spoke to all and kept the Clans safe."

"Then, one day, a young cat named Shadowstalker revealed himself to a group of Twolegs. The Twolegs panicked and began to call out names, then acted as though they were trying to banish Shadowstalker. But when that didn't work..." Ghoststep trailed off, his blue eyes watching Molepaw carefully as the apprentice began to shake uncontrollably.

Then, he began to wail, geen eys wide and unseeing.

"Witch, witch! Demon's spawn! Devil's messenger! Burn the witch! Burn it! Find the others! Burn them! Burn them before they curse us and devour our souls! Burn! Burn! BURN THEM!!" he wailed, then stopped, his entire body shaking uncontrolably.

Suddenly, he cried out, and everything went black.

When he next opened his eyes, he could hear wailing and screams of terror.

"No! Help! Someone, _please!_"

"Burn the witches! Burn them all!"

Flames shot up all around him and he could smell burning fur and flash.

"NO!!" he yowled in pure terror, searching desperatly for a way of of the ring of flames trapping him.

"Beware, Molepaw," Ghoststep's voice echoed in his head,"Beware the flames of hatred and suspicion. Unless you put a stop to it, history will repeat itself, and our antire way of life will end in a heartbeat. Learn to control your power and find the traitor doomed to destroy us all. Don't worry, you won't be alone..."

"Molepaw! Wake up!"

Molepaw's eyes snapped open and he sprang to his paws, glancing around wildly as if he expected a family of foxes to leap out at him at any moment.

"Calm down," Nightpaw mewed gently,"You looked like you were having a nightmare, so I woke you up."

Molepaw blinked a few times befire finally letting the fur lie flat on his shoulders, and sat down.

"Are you okay?" Nightpaw asked wirridly.

Molepaw nodded shakily. "Y-yeah. I-I will be i-in a s-s-second," he replied.

"Molepaw, Nightpaw, hurry up!" Ringtail called.

"Oakstar just called a Clan meeting," Nightpaw explained as they slipped out of the den.

Everyone else was already there. Oakstar sat atop the Great Stump, while the deputy Moonbeam sat at its base.

The two went and sat by their mentors, Tenseheart and Speckleface. Ringtail sat with them too.

"It is now time for Leafear's kits to become apprentices," Oakstar announced.

"Spunkykit, come here," the brown tabby meowed, and the little black-and-white kitten bounced foreword excitedly.

"From this day, until you recieve your warrior name, you will be known as Spunkypaw. Milkweed--" a milky white tom stepped up"--you will be Spukypaw's mentor. Train her well in the ways of the warrior."

"Spunkypaw! Spunkypaw!"

Next was Honeypaw and her new mentor, Sparrowfeather, then Lionpaw and his new mentor, Swallowtail.

Finally, Leafear's last kit stood before Oakstar.

"Tansykit, from this day on until you recieve your warrior name, you will bw known as Tansypaw. Ringtail will be your mentor."

Ringtail sprang to his paws and made his way over to touch noses with his new apprentice excitedly.

"Ringtail, TreeClan knows of you bravery and skill, and we hope you will pass these traits on th Tansypaw," Oakstar meowed, his amber eyes glittering with amusement as he watched the ginger warrior and ginger tabby sit down with the other newly apprenticed kittens and their mentors.

"One more thing. Dustlegs' patrol has reported a family of foxes in our territory. Until we've chased them out, any cat leaving camp must be accompanied by one or two other warriors. That is all," he ended, and jumped down from the stump.

Nightpaw bounded over to Ringtail and Tansypaw, Molepaw trailing miserably after him.

"Congrats!" Nightpaw mewed warmly to both ginger cats.

"Thanks!" Ringtail purred, placing his banded tail on the little ginger tabby's head,"I'm gonna make this kitten work so hard, her head'll spin!"

"I can't wait!" Tansypaw squeaked axcitedly, bouncing up and down.

Nightpaw purred, but Molepaw just sat there with a blank look on his face, green eyes unfocused and staring.

Nightpaw saw Oakstar padding over and quicky nipped his brother's ear, bringing the little black cat back to reality.

"Congratulations!" the TreeClan leader meowed to Ringtail and Tansypaw, then turned to Nightpaw and Molepaw.

"You two, Tenseheart, Speckleface and I are all going on a patrol," he announced.

Nightpaw nodded, and Ringtail meowed,"I'm going to go with Sparrowfeather and Honeypaw to show Tansypaw the new territory, then."

Oakstar nodded and the two walked off.

Paws prickling with axcitement, Nightpaw followed Oakstar over to the hollow log where Speckleface and Tenseheart were waiting.

"Ready?" Speckleface asked.

Nightpaw looked up at the golden she-cat with her ginger and brown dotted face and nodded.

"And you?" Tenseheart, snapped to Molepaw.

The scrawny apprentice looked up at the grwy tom, startled, then he too nodded.

"Then let's go."


End file.
